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Ex-police captain released in ex-wife's killing

Published on NewsOK
Modified: January 29, 2013 at 6:31 pm •
Published: January 29, 2013

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LONDON, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio police captain who spent nearly 15 years in prison in his ex-wife's killing was released Tuesday hours after a judge ruled that DNA test results prove he's innocent and no reasonable jury would find otherwise.

Doug Prade, a former Ohio police captain who has spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's killing, waves as he is driven from the Madison Correctional Institution after being released Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, in London, Ohio. Prade was exonerated by DNA testing. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Doug Prade was released from the Madison Correctional Institution outside of Columbus just hours after an Akron judge found that the new test results were "clear and convincing."

"This is what should have happened in 1998," Prade told reporters near the prison shortly after his release. "I'm innocent. I should have been found innocent back then."

The now 66-year-old Prade was convicted in 1998 of shooting his ex-wife to death outside the Akron office where she worked as a doctor on Nov. 26, 1997. There were no witnesses, no fingerprints, and no gun ever was found.

Prade's conviction largely was based on a bite mark found on his ex-wife's body. The new test results show that Prade couldn't have left the mark.

"I'm just a jumble of emotions right now," said Prade, who appeared both elated and in disbelief.

He said that he planned to eat anything that hadn't been cooked in prison and spend time with his family, including six grandchildren he has never met. He's still deciding where he'll live and what he'll do now that he's free, but Prade said that he wants to work with the Ohio Innocence Project — the group that helped free him — on other cases of wrongfully convicted inmates.

"There are thousands of innocent men and women in prison and a lot of them don't have the advantage of DNA to rely on," Prade said. "Hopefully those ones that do have DNA now — something will happen."

Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a statement that Hunter's findings were "a gross misapplication of the law."

"We have not seen any credible evidence that suggests innocence, and we are taking all available actions to keep a dangerous killer off the streets," she said.

If a higher court agrees with prosecutors and overturns Hunter's ruling, Prade would get a new trial.

The new DNA test was conducted on Margo Prade's lab coat where her killer is believed to have bitten her.

A forensic dentist testified for the prosecution in 1998 that he was sure Prade was responsible for the mark, while a defense expert said that the defendant's teeth couldn't have left it. Another prosecution expert said there was no way to be certain that Prade made the mark but that it was consistent with his teeth.

Jurors found Prade guilty of aggravated murder after deliberating for six hours, and the 30-year veteran of the Akron police department was sentenced to life in prison.